Discover what colors are the most rare to see in nature, and how physics and evolution drive their scarcity. -- Plants, animals, or minerals found in nature bear almost every color imaginable. There are two factors that influence what hues you see in the wild: physics and evolution. So, which colors are you least likely to see in the natural world? Victoria Hwang explores one of nature’s rarest spectacles. Lesson by Victoria Hwang, directed by Tamara Bogovac, Artrake Studio. 2:33 - Image referen...
May 13, 2026•8 min
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/mysteries-of-vernacular-dynamite-jessica-oreck-and-rachael-teel With an explosive meaning, the word dynamite's past is as historical as it is etymological. Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel describe how Alfred Nobel invented dynamite. Lesson by Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel, animation by Jessica Oreck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
May 13, 2026•4 min
Explore the incredible adaptations of Elysia chlorotica, a species of sea slug that can photosynthesize food. -- The species of slug known as Elysia chlorotica may not look like much— it resembles a bright green leaf— but it’s one of the most extraordinary creatures on our planet. Living in marshes along the coast of North America, it can go about a year without eating. During that time, it lives like a plant. How is this possible? Luka Seamus Wright digs into the incredible adaptations of these...
May 13, 2026•8 min
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/mysteries-of-vernacular-venom-jessica-oreck-and-rachael-teel How did venom get its poisonous meaning? Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel follow venom from something to desire to explicit reasons for avoiding a snake. Lesson by Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel, animation by Jessica Oreck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
May 13, 2026•4 min
John Gerzema says there's an upside to the recent financial crisis -- the opportunity for positive change. In this talk, he identifies four major cultural shifts driving new consumer behavior and shows how businesses are evolving to connect with thoughtful spending. (Filmed at TEDxKC.) Talk by John Gerzema. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 12, 2026•21 min
Trace the diverse and delicious history of dumplings, from their first recorded origins to their spread across the Asian continent and beyond. -- As archaeologists pored over ancient tombs in western China, they discovered some surprisingly well-preserved and familiar relics. Though hardened over 1,000 years, there sat little crescent-shaped dumplings. So who invented these plump pockets of perfection, and how did they spread across the world? Miranda Brown traces the tangled, mysterious histori...
May 12, 2026•6 min
Contraception. The topic has become controversial in recent years. But should it be? Melinda Gates believes that many of the world's social change issues depend on ensuring that women are able to control their rate of having kids. In this significant talk, she makes the case for the world to re-examine an issue she intends to lend her voice to for the next decade. (Filmed at TEDxChange.) Talk by Melinda Gates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
May 12, 2026•33 min
Explore the specialized anatomy that allows parrots to talk, scream, curse, and recite facts like humans. -- Whether they’re belting Beyoncé, head-banging to classic rock, or rattling off curse words at zoo-goers, parrots are constantly astounding us. They are among the only animals that produce human speech, and some parrots do it almost uncannily well. How is this possible? Grace Smith-Vidaurre and Tim Wright dig into the anatomy that allows parrots to talk, scream, curse, and recite facts. Le...
May 12, 2026•8 min
It's an all too common story: after participating in an HIV clinical trial, a woman in sub-Saharan Africa is left without the resources to buy a bus ticket to her health clinic, let alone to afford life-saving antiretrovirals. Boghuma Kabisen Titanji asks an important question: how can researchers looking for a cure make sure they're not taking advantage of those most affected by the pandemic? (Filmed at TEDxGoodenoughCollege.) Talk by Boghuma Kabisen Titanji. Learn more about your ad choices. V...
May 12, 2026•15 min
Explore what happens in your body when you don’t acclimate to higher altitudes and the dangers of altitude sickness. -- If you teleported from sea level to the top of Mount Everest, things would go bad fast. At an altitude of 8,848 meters, you would likely suffocate in minutes. However, for people that make this journey over the course of a month, it’s possible to survive at the peak for hours. So what happens in our bodies that allows us to endure this incredible altitude? Andrew Lovering inves...
May 12, 2026•8 min
The public is losing faith in democracy, says British MP Rory Stewart. Iraq and Afghanistan's new democracies are deeply corrupt; meanwhile, 84 percent of people in Britain say politics is broken. In this important talk, Stewart sounds a call to action to rebuild democracy, starting with recognizing why democracy is important -- not as a tool, but as an ideal. Talk by Rory Stewart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
May 11, 2026•18 min
Discover the shortcomings of using GDP to measure a country’s well-being, and what alternatives can be used to gauge quality of life. -- What’s the best country to live in? Is it the one with the best food? The longest life expectancy? The best weather? For the past 70 years, most governments have relied heavily on a single number: the Gross Domestic Product, or GDP. But it was never intended for its current purpose; and some argue that we are addicted to making it grow. Explore the different wa...
May 11, 2026•6 min
In Western society, bats are often characterized as creepy, even evil. Zoologist Emma Teeling encourages us to rethink our attitude toward bats, whose unique and fascinating biology gives us insight into our own genetic makeup. (Filmed at TEDxDublin.) Talk by Emma Teeling. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 11, 2026•21 min
Discover how alcohol impacts your body’s processes and causes hangovers, and find out what causes the most common hangover symptoms. -- The molecule responsible for hangovers is ethanol, which we colloquially refer to as alcohol. Ethanol is present in all alcoholic beverages, and generally speaking, the more ethanol, the greater the potential for a hangover. So, how exactly does alcohol cause a hangover— and is there any way to prevent one? Judy Grisel explores the surprising ways that alcohol a...
May 11, 2026•7 min
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-emergence-of-drama-as-a-literary-art-mindy-ploeckelmann When presented with the problem of hoards of illiterate commoners, English clergymen in the 11th century created plays to spread word about the Bible. Eventually, the plays moved out of the church and into the streets. Mindy Ploeckelmann tracks the development of drama from mystery plays to morality plays and, eventually, to Shakespeare. Lesson by Mindy Ploeckelmann, animation by Johnny Chew. ...
May 11, 2026•6 min
Explore the possibility of plastivores— organisms that can eat and break down plastic— helping reduce the plastic waste on Earth. -- Each year humanity produces roughly 400 million tons of plastic, 80% of which is discarded as trash. Of that plastic waste, only one-tenth is recycled. 60% gets incinerated or goes into the landfills, and 30% leaks out into the environment. Fortunately, there are microbes that may be able to take a bite out of this growing problem. Tierney Thys and Christian Sardet...
May 11, 2026•9 min
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/tracking-grizzly-bears-from-space-david-laskin Grizzly bears have adapted cleverly to their diminishing habitat by developing a mostly vegetarian diet in sync with plant growing seasons. Using NASA satellites, scientists track the shifting, interrelated patterns of grizzlies and plants. David Laskin explains how this data can help protect the threatened bears. Lesson by David Laskin, animation by TED-Ed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...
May 10, 2026•6 min
Discover the extraordinary capabilities of hagfish, the slime-producing fish that has survived on Earth for over 300 million years. -- In 2017, a truck screeched to a halt. One of its containers slid off, hit a car, and spilled its contents— thousands of kilograms of hagfish. The result of this accident was an absolute mess: the highway was coated in a thick slime that took the fire department 7 hours to clear. How did these creatures create this stupendous supply of slime? Noah R. Bressman and ...
May 10, 2026•8 min
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-do-you-decide-where-to-go-in-a-zombie-apocalypse-david-hunter Can geography save your life in case of, say, a zombie apocalypse? Understanding the push and pull factors that create geographic movement -- or how people, resources, and even ideas travel -- might help you determine the location that's best for survival. David Hunter playfully analyzes the geography skills that you'd need to escape the zombies. Lesson by David Hunter, animation by Prov...
May 10, 2026•5 min
Explore the common causes and treatments of yeast infections, which affect 3 out of every 4 people with a vagina. -- The vagina harbors hundreds of different kinds of microorganisms. Candida yeasts are usually present in small quantities and most of the time, these fungi are harmless. But, under certain conditions, Candida yeasts can cause infections. One species in particular is the usual culprit of vaginal yeast infections. So, how exactly does a yeast infection happen? Liesbeth Demuyser inves...
May 10, 2026•8 min
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/cheese-dogs-and-a-pill-to-kill-mosquitoes-and-end-malaria-bart-knols We can use a mosquito's own instincts against her. At TEDxMaastricht speaker Bart Knols demos the imaginative solutions his team is developing to fight malaria -- including limburger cheese and a deadly pill. (Filmed at TEDxMaastricht.) Talk by Bart Knols. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
May 10, 2026•14 min
Dig into the 4 biggest existential risks that threaten the survival of humanity, and explore how we can safeguard our future. -- With the invention of the atomic bomb, humanity gained the power to destroy itself for the first time in our history. Since then, our risk of either extinction or the collapse of civilization has steadily increased. Just how likely are we to destroy ourselves? And what poses the greatest threat to our survival? Dig into four existential threats and explore how we can s...
May 10, 2026•8 min
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/a-new-way-to-diagnose-autism-ami-klin Early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder can improve the lives of everyone affected, but the complex network of causes make it incredibly difficult to predict. At TEDxPeachtree, Ami Klin describes a new early detection method that uses eye-tracking technologies to gauge babies' social engagement skills and reliably measure their risk of developing autism. (Filmed at TEDxPeachTree.) Talk by Ami Klin. Learn more a...
May 09, 2026•25 min
Dig into how foreign corporations exploit African nations like Mali for their gold mining, and often rob them of proper compensation. -- In 2020, Mali produced over 71 tons of gold— an amount worth billions of dollars. But Mali saw only $850 million dollars from that gold. And this situation isn’t unique: a number of other gold-rich countries in Africa aren’t seeing the income they should given the price of gold. So, what’s going on? Lyla Latif digs into how foreign corporations exploit African ...
May 09, 2026•7 min
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-mysterious-workings-of-the-adolescent-brain-sarah-jayne-blakemore Why do teenagers seem so much more impulsive, so much less self-aware than grown-ups? Cognitive neuroscientist Sarah-Jayne Blakemore compares the prefrontal cortex in adolescents to that of adults, to show us how typically "teenage" behavior is caused by the growing and developing brain. Talk by Sarah-Jayne Blakemore. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
May 09, 2026•19 min
Discover the tradition of worm grunting, and find out why earthworms come to the surface when they sense vibrations in the earth. -- In the middle of Florida’s Apalachicola National Forest, a bizarre, almost magical scene is unraveling. Sliding a metal strip over a wooden stake, a master summoner is sending deep croaking noises reverberating throughout the area. And, as if in a trance, hundreds of earthworms begin emerging from the soil. What’s going on? Kenny Coogan explores the tradition known...
May 09, 2026•7 min
Because of poor acoustics, students in classrooms miss 50 percent of what their teachers say and patients in hospitals have trouble sleeping because they continually feel stressed. Julian Treasure sounds a call to action for designers to pay attention to the "invisible architecture" of sound. Talk by Julian Treasure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 09, 2026•14 min
Dig into the science of touchscreens, and find out the difference between the two most common types: capacitive and resistive. -- In 2010, South Korea experienced a particularly cold winter. People couldn’t activate their smartphones while wearing gloves, so they began wielding snack sausages— causing one company to see a 40% rise in sausage sales. So, what could sausages do that gloves couldn’t? In other words, how do touchscreens actually work? Charles Wallace and Sajan Saini dig into the scie...
May 09, 2026•8 min
When a squirrel chewed through a cable and knocked him offline, journalist Andrew Blum started wondering what the Internet was really made of. So he set out to go see it -- the underwater cables, secret switches and other physical bits that make up the net. Talk by Andrew Blum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 08, 2026•11 min
Trace the history and evolution of the Spanish language, from its origins in the 3rd century BCE to modern day. -- Beginning in the third century BCE, the Romans conquered the Iberian peninsula. This period gave rise to several regional languages in the area that’s now Spain, including Castilian, Catalan, and Galician. One of these would become Spanish— but not for another 1,500 years. Those years tell the origin story of what’s become a global modern language. Ilan Stavans traces the evolution ...
May 08, 2026•8 min
